JEE is one of the famous engineering entrance examinations, conducted country wide in India. This examination provides an opportunity to students who are aspiring to be an engineer, from one of the top institutions like IIT’s, NIT’s & IIIT’s. In a year over 10 lakh students try to get into one of these elite institutions.
To crack JEE most students start their preparation as early as possible and take admission in expensive coaching institutes. Also students and parents think these coaching classes are the only bright light to direct the way to top colleges.
According to one of the articles by times now 35 to 50% of the students crack the JEE without any coaching. The question is: Is it worth spending lakhs for preparation? Is it true or just a coaching hype? It depends upon your choice.
Okay, it’s sure that cracking JEE without coaching is possible but how to prepare for it?
Stay with us to get the perfect strategy to prepare for JEE without any coaching.
When should I start preparing for JEE
The best way to win the game is to start as soon as possible. There is an early mover advantage which will provide ample amount of time for you to improve in weaker areas. It will help in building confidence.
If you want to be an engineer then ideally you should start preparing as you enter class 11. Also don’t worry if you are starting late, believe in yourself you can do this.
If you are self-studying for JEE you need to have a strong grip conceptually on every topic. To do that, start learning from school, grab the information as much as you can in classes. Try not to skip any classes because it will make it difficult to understand later. And don’t forget to receive the topics.
Keep syllabus and question pattern in mind
Syllabus for the JEE is like a roadmap for cracking JEE. Keeping the road map on the mind will say how your preparation is going on and how many topics you need to cover.
Also did you know that most of the questions from JEE come from just 20% of overall syllabus. You need to focus on the most important topics which cover the maximum weightage.
Lets see the weightage of each topic in detail.
| subject | topics | Number of Questions | % wise weightage |
| Physics | Modern physics | 5 | 16.6% |
| Heat & Thermodynamics | 3 | 10% | |
| Optics | 3 | 10% | |
| Current Electricity | 3 | 10% | |
| Electrostatics | 3 | 10% | |
| Magnetism | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Unit, Dimension And Vectors | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Kinematics | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Laws of Motion | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Work, energy And Power | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Centre of mass, Impulse & Momentum | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Rotation | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Gravitation | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Solids & Fluids | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Wave | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Electromagnetic induction / AC | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Chemistry | Transition elements and coordinate chemistry | 3 | 10% |
| Periodic Table and Representative Elements | 3 | 10% | |
| Thermodynamics and Gaseous state | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Chemical Bonding | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Atomic Structure | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Chemical and Ionic Equilibrium | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Solid States & Surface Chemistry | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Nuclear Chemistry & Environment | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Mole Concept | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Redox Reaction | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Electrochemistry | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Chemical Kinetics | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Solution & Colligative Property | 1 | 3.3% | |
| General Organic Chemistry | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Stereochemistry | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Hydrocarbons | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Alkyl Halides | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Carboxylic Acid & Their Derivatives | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Carbohydrates, Amino Acids & Polymers | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Aromatic Compounds | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Mathematics | Coordinate Geometry | 5 | 16.6% |
| Integral Calculus | 3 | 10% | |
| Limits, Continuity & Differentiability | 3 | 10% | |
| Complex Numbers & Quadratic Equation | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Matrices & Determinant | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Statistics & Probability | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Three Dimensional Geometry | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Vector Algebra | 2 | 6.6% | |
| Sets, Relation & Function | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Permutation & Combination | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Binomial Theorem & application | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Sequences & Series | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Trigonometry | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Differential Equation | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Statistics & Dynamics | 1 | 3.3% | |
| Differential Calculus | 1 | 3.3% |
The above table shows the data of previous year questions with its weightage. The data show that about 70% of questions are coming from only 21 topics out of 53 including all three subjects. If you look at mathematics, 8 topics will cover 70% weightage. 6 topics of physics covers 63% out of 17 and 7 topics of chemistry covers 59% Chemistry.
Prioritise those topics which carry maximum weightage, this will help you cover the syllabus faster.
Let’s Look at the pattern of examination
After 2019 National Testing Agency(NTA), has been authorised to set the question and conduct the examination.
JEE mains consists of three papers
B.E/B.Tech
| Subject | Section A questions | Section B Questions | Marks |
| Physics | 20 | 10 (5 compulsory) | 100 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 10 (5 compulsory) | 100 |
| Mathematics | 20 | 10 (5 compulsory) | 100 |
| Total | 60 | 30 (15 to Attempt) | 300 |
| 75 need to be attempted |
2A B.Arch
| Subject | Section A | Section B | Marks |
| Mathematics | 20 | 10 (5 compulsory) | 100 |
| Aptitude | 50 | 200 | |
| Drawing | 2 | 100 | |
| Total | 82 questions | ||
| 77 to be attempted | 400 |
2B B.planning
| Subject | Section A | Section B | Marks |
| Mathematics | 20 | 10 (5 compulsory) | 100 |
| Aptitude | 50 | 200 | |
| Based Planning | 25 | 100 | |
| Total | 105 questions | ||
| 100 to be attempted | 400 |
If you are preparing for B.E/ B.Tech then each subject equally matters to you.
Is ncert is enough for JEE Preparation
JEE main examination is based on Ncert book. The basic concept of the overall topic will be cleared and almost 50-60% of questions are coming from Ncert only. But these books are not enough for question practicing.
Which are the best books for JEE mains preparation
There are many online lectures, notes & study materials that are available at free of cost or you can bring some reference books for practice. Most of the students make themselves busy with book shopping. Remember buying books is good but more than one or two is wasting money and energy. Because it will confuse you in selecting which one to follow and which one not to. So, try to stick with max to max 2 books for each subject.
Physics Book
For Physics Ncert is not enough you need to go with some other reference books. You can may select one of these books
- Concepts of physics by H.C Verma
- Problems in General Physics by I.E Irodov
- Fundamentals of physics by Rasnik, Hallidays & Walker
Chemistry Book
For Chemistry you don’t need to go beyond Ncert in the inorganic and the organic part. But go with the reference books for physical chemistry.
- Modern approach to chemical Calculation By R.C Mukherjee
- Organic Chemistry By O.P Tondon
- Concept of Physical Chemistry By P Bahadur
- Concise Inorganic Chemistry By J.D Lee
Mathematics Book
For Mathematics you definitely need one reference book.
- Mathematics for Class 11 & 12 By R.D Sharma
- Objective Mathematics For JEE By R.D Sharma
Remember Ncert should be the top most priority book. Move to reference books after completing ncert.
How to do self study for JEE Mains preparation
The teaching of school and online free videos will make you conceptually sound. And self study and revision will help in memorising the concept.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the most scoring subject in JEE mains. Eor better understanding start with mole concept and atomic structure then move to other chapters. We will discuss chemistry in 3 parts
Inorganic chemistry: Ncert book is enough for this part. There are few questions coming from this part. Don’t waste time on reference books. Make sure to have a good grip on understanding the properties of the elements and compounds. Use jargon to memorise most of the topics.
Organic chemistry is all about practice. Ncert will provide a great understanding of the chemical reactions but for more practice you need to use Ncert exemplar or some other books.
A good grip on mole concept will be helpful in creating a strong base on other topics.
Physics
Make chapter wise sheets containing formulas and laws, mark the important pointer. All these will help you in revision.
Math
Practice is the key to get good expertise on mathematics.
Apart from this, solve previous year questions as 4-5 questions are repeated every year. Many big coaching institutes are providing online test series, join a test series that will help you in time management.
Don’t forget to revise and practise
Most students make the mistake of practising a thousand questions from a single chapter and never revise the questions after that.
Bruce Lee once quoted “I fear not a man who practised 10,000 kicks once a time, but I fear the man who practised one kick 10,000 times”, in short practice with quality.
Look, your goal should be clear about the JEE main. Secure higher marks to get admitted into a top college. For that you need to practise 70-100 quality questions from each chapter and revise these 3-4 times later.
A student should give at least 2 hours in revision during the preparation.
Conclusion
Most teachers and coaching centres will say JEE is difficult because lakhs of students are competing with each other. But it’s not true. As Usain Bolt said “competition is the easy part, the difficult is the work behind the scenes”. If you are focusing on competition then there is a dead end. If you are practicing and focusing on the preparation strategy that we had discussed then it’s an essay piece of cake.
For Exam update check out NTA website
Yes, a year is enough for preparing for JEE. Remember it’s not about time it’s about how much quality time that you have put on in understanding the concepts. It will not be as difficult to get good marks on JEE.
Yes, an average student can crack the IIT without coaching. I will recommend practising more questions and being clear conceptually in each and every topic. Rather than thinking of average things.
As per the official announcement by NTA a student can give at most 3 attempts in JEE Mains.
Look it’s nothing bad studying 12 hour long but there is a thin line between quality study hour and information overload. If you are studying 4 to 6 hour in a day with high focus, is better than studying long with low focus.
It completely depends upon you, how much you want to put it on the table.
If you got more than, cut off mark then start preparing for the JEE advanced which is the way to IIT college or wait for the NIT’s, IIIT’s and other state run govt colleges for admission notice.
Yes, Diploma students can get into IITs. The step is simple: just appear for JEE mains and JEE advanced and get a good score in the exam.